


The Lion Problem

by Tsukirai



Series: The Cocktail of Problems [6]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Fluff, Lion!Akashi, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-03
Updated: 2012-12-03
Packaged: 2017-11-20 04:57:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/581527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsukirai/pseuds/Tsukirai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The rest of them had fully turned into animals, and Akashi thought that life would still go on, but their human counterparts had been kidnapped and the animals have to save them from freezing to death in the cold winter weather. Who kidnapped them? Is it Haisaki again? Fluff</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Lion Problem

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Kurobas is not mine
> 
> I'm sorry for the Darker than Black joke
> 
> So I tried, but I really can't grasp Akashi's personality that well.
> 
> Also, he's not in a ship yet. I don't think he'd ever be in a ship in this fic. Who can I ship him with? There's nobody to ship him with. Thus, the foreveralone Akashi

Akashi sighed, his tail lazily swaying from side to side as he felt the brush massage his scalp while doing the job of a brush and avoiding his lion ears. He had agreed to let Mibuchi brush his hair, since it got a little tangles and Mibuchi couldn't resist those red locks. They looked really soft, and Mibuchi wanted to see exactly  _how_ soft, so he asked Akashi if he could brush his hair.

Akashi, who never had his hair brushed by people that weren't his servants (his parents weren't the kind that would care about a trivial matter such as this) thought that it wouldn't be a bad idea. It would be an interesting experience, so Mibuchi was sitting on the floor of Akashi's room, brushing the captain's hair gently.

"Sei-chan, your hair is quite soft," Mibuchi mumbled. Akashi smiled, "Only my servants would tell me that."

Mibuchi didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Am I your servant?"

Akashi turned to look at Mibuchi. "No, more like a pawn to my game, but would you like to be?"

Mibuchi chuckled, "That's rather cruel, Sei-chan. I don't think I'll ever want to be your servant."

"Why?"

"You asked me… why?" Mibuchi frowned in confusion. Wasn't the answer obvious?

"My servants are the only friends I have, although there are some who are scared of me. Those that have been in my life the whole time are the closest to me."

"So to you being your servant would mean a compliment to me?"

"Well… yes."

Mibuchi smiled, "Well, I don't know whether to be flattered or honored, Sei-chan."

"Perhaps you should be both, Reo," Akashi suggested, and Mibuchi just laughed as he braided his hair.

"What are you doing Reo? It feels weird."

"I'm braiding your hair."

"What for?"

"Because I feel like braiding your hair. It's nice and long now, and your hair has the quality to be in a hair commercial."

"I'm wealthy, of course I buy good shampoo."

"Shampoo is not everything you know. Some people are just born with good hair."

"Are you complimenting my hair?"

"I believe I am," Mibuchi says as he ties the braid. Leaning back a bit, he looks at his handiwork before handing Akashi a hand mirror.

"So this is how I look like with a braid," Akashi says to himself, looking at himself with a braid, "I look very strange."

Chuckling, the raven took the mirror from his captain, "That's because you've never seen yourself with long hair before."

"That's true. I accept that statement," Akashi says as he fondly touches the braid.

Mibuchi smiles and lies on his back, unfolding his legs and shifting them so they were bent just behind Akashi's back. The half-lion half-human teen shifted his position so he was perpendicular to Mibuchi.

"Hey, Sei-chan," Mibuchi says while looking at the ceiling, "What do you usually do?"

"Most of the time I go out and walk the horses," Akashi says as he looks out the window. "I don't think we can do that, Sei-chan," Mibuchi smiles a little.

Akashi sadly smiles, "I don't suppose so, I'll probably spook them."

"You like your horses?"

Akashi nodded and started telling Mibuchi about the horses that his family owns. He happily tells Mibuchi all about what his horses loves to eat, what they were all good at and more. The teen looked happy to be able to talk with someone so casually without the other party feeling fear, and it was refreshing.

Mibuchi let the point guard chatter away, happy to know that the fearless Akashi Seijurou was human after all.

* * *

After a nice dinner, a short chat and a bath, Mibuchi was in the guest room assigned to him and he settled into his futon. He went through what Akashi said will happen to him and what he was supposed to do. Mibuchi sighs at the hard work that Akashi was going to make him do doing practice. Closing his eyes and not thinking about it further, he fell into a peaceful slumber.

Mibuchi was buttoning the last few buttons when he heard a knock on the door. The door slid open and there was a maid kneeling at the door with a tray of food. "Pardon me, Mibuchi-sama. Your breakfast," She politely says as she pushes the tray into the room.

The raven gives her a smile before saying thank you. She quietly bows and slides the door close before she got up to leave. Mibuchi tucks in his shirt before bringing the tray to a more comfortable spot in the room. Eating quickly, because Akashi Seijurou runs a very strict schedule, he just manages to finish his miso soup before the same maid knocks on the door and slides it open, asking for the empty dishes.

"Ah, miss," Mibuchi asks before the maid disappears, "How is Sei-chan?"

The maid continues looking down, never making eye contact at all, "He has fully turned into a lion, sir."

"Thank you," he says before he grabs his school bag and puts on his shoes. He then makes his way to Akashi's room to take a little peek, and to tell him that he was leaving.

Knocking on the door and then opening it a little, Mibuchi pokes his head in and greets, "Good morning, Sei-chan. You look fine and majestic this morning."

The golden lion with a slightly reddish brown mane gives Mibuchi a slightly exasperated look. Raising its head a little, Mibuchi opens the door a little more, "Yes yes, I know what to do, Sei-chan, don't worry."

The lion nods and lowers his head onto his paws, which Mibuchi assumes is the signal for him to leave. Mibuchi gets into the car waiting for him outside the gates and is taken to school.

* * *

"Reo-nee!" Mibuchi groans as he hears Hayama call his nickname. "Yes, Kotarou?"

"How's Akashi?" He excitedly asks, giving Mibuchi a big toothy grin.

"The same. Just… More intimidating."

Hayama shivered, "I never knew Akashi could become more intimidating."

"Wait for practice, Kotarou," Mibuchi chuckles as he gives Hayama a pat on the back as he walks by.

Mibuchi spends the entire day trying to pry Hayama off him. He can't really stand that excited teen's chattering, but he was really thankful when Hayama spotted Nebuya and flew towards the 190cm tall player, leaving Mibuchi in peace.

After school was over, Mibuchi quickly changed into his basketball uniform and waited at the school's main gate for Akashi to arrive. When he sees the familiar black car pull up, he watches as the driver opens the door and the lion steps out. Giving a short bow to Akashi, the driver gets back in the car and drives away.

Akashi stalks towards the gym in silence, Mibuchi by his side.

* * *

Everyone in the gym was getting ready for practice. Only the regulars know what happened to Akashi. Quickly lining up according to years, the balls are brought out and everyone has changed into their uniforms. Hayama and Nebuya are standing with Coach Eiji, Hayama antsy to see Akashi in his lion form. The coach, of course, has been informed. Akashi prepares most of the menus for the regular players while the coach overlooks the rest of the players. The two have come to an agreement to let Akashi train the regulars.

Everyone stands in their lines as they wait for instructions from the coach before taking action. The first years practice the basic skills while the second years are having a small match. It was shortly after they had started when Mibuchi and Akashi arrived.

Everyone stopped what they were doing as they saw Akashi, or the lion, since they didn't know that he was Akashi, walk in.

The coach orders them to go back to what they were doing and turns to look at Akashi.

"Akashi!" Hayama shouts before moving closer to take a look at the slightly-small-in-size lion, but before he could get as close as he wanted, Mibuchi pushed his face away. "Remember what Sei-chan said to you, Kotarou."

"Right. To not get so close to him or he'd chew my face out," Hayama says as he stands up straight and pouts. Nebuya chuckles and goes to stand beside Hayama. "You weren't kidding when you said that you were going to turn into a lion."

"He said that he'd expected you to say that, so he told me to say 'I never kid, Eikichi,'" Mibuchi told to Nebuya before addressing Akashi, "Did I get that right?"

Akashi nodded before moving to curl up in the corner.

"Right, so here's what we're doing today…" Akashi hears Mibuchi say from afar.

Akashi intently watches practice. He didn't bother to go to school. What's the point when he has home tutoring as well? He roars whenever there was nonsense going on in the courts and growls when he sees people goofing off because they think Akashi isn't there. To him, practice is a more important event then school, because his team must be perfect, and he cannot allow his team to be distracted by the people around them.

His team must be undefeated, the strongest, and the ones who will take the championship.

* * *

After hitting the showers, Mibuchi pats Hayama on the shoulder, "He's  _all_ yours, Kotarou."

Hayama looked excited. He's always excited. He's excited for everything. Apart from homework and exams, but he's more or less always excited. "Did you get to learn anything new about Akashi before he turned into a lion?"

Mibuchi smiles, "He's a human being like every one of us, and he really loves his horses."

* * *

Hayama quickly changed and met Akashi at the doors of the gym. Hayama chatted away happily while Akashi silently trotted to the car waiting for him. Making Hayama sit in the inner most seat, Akashi climbed onto the seat before resting his head on Hayama's lap and taking a nap. Hayama had stopped talking then, not wanting to wake Akashi up and cautiously gave Akashi a small pet on the head.

Akashi snapped his eyes open, startled, and looked up, blinking in confusion. Hayama had frozen in shock, and his hand was raised in mid air. The lion lowered his head again, deeming Hayama no threat, and closed his eyes again. Hayama then thought that it was best that he never touch Akashi's head again.

* * *

Akashi woke up when he felt the car stop rumbling. Raising his head and looking out the window, he saw the window and heard the driver announce that he was home. He got off Hayama's lap, turned around, and waited for the driver to open the door so he could come out. Hayama followed Akashi and the lion rubbed against his waist, inviting him into the house.

The maids had brought Hayama to his room while the lion retreated back to his own room.

Hayama knocked on Akashi's door, slid it open, and poked his head through. "Akashi, can I come in?" Hayama asks before he actually comes in. Akashi raises his head and nods.

Closing the door behind him and sitting down, Hayama scans the room and then turns his gaze to the lion lying on its belly. Akashi was reading a book, and Hayama tries to read it upside down.

"You're reading… poetry?"

Red and yellow eyes look at dark brown ones. Akashi nods again and Hayama scoots closer.

"I knew you'd be the kind of guy who likes poetry."

Akashi turned his attention back to the book, flipping the page clumsily with a giant paw. Akashi was grateful that Hayama's excitement and chatter was toned down.

"Hey, can I read some of your books?" Hayama asks and Akashi nods again. The platinum blonde stands to look through Akashi's shelf.

 _Shogi, academics, poetry, classics, he has boring books,_ Hayama thought. He settled down with a book that had no title on its spine and started reading.

Hayama's eyes widened as he had just picked up one of Akashi's diaries. It was written neatly in ink and brush.  _How traditional,_ Hayama thinks as he reads the contents. This particular entry was dated 6 years ago, when Akashi was 10.

" _Father had gotten me another horse today. It was a brown mustang with black socks. He had a lovely brown mane. The servants had brought the horse to the stable. I hope he gets along with the others._

_Unfortunately, Father and Mother are going overseas again, which was the reason why they got me a new horse. I cannot deny that the horse is exceptional, it was lean and powerful and rather tame, but if it's a parting gift, I rather they just bring me along instead of buying me a friend whom I cannot even communicate with._

_They are leaving for a business trip to China for a month again. That's the 3_ _rd_ _time this year. I wish they would stay home more to accompany me, but of course, it is foolish to ask my parents to stay home to 'play' with me. 'We are very busy,' they would always tell me, 'Don't you have schoolwork to do.'_

_I know my servants more than I know my parents. I know what Tanaka likes to eat, what color he likes, what academic subject he likes, but I do not even know what kind of flower Mother likes. It could be possible that Mother doesn't like flowers though. Sometimes I feel that my servants are more like my parents instead._

_After school, I would hear my schoolmates chattering happily, going on outings and laughing. No one ever approaches me for anything apart from schoolwork, but I have accepted that. No one is like me, I am unique, special, the one and only. No one can do what I do because what I do is perfect. I am never wrong, what I speak and write is truth._

_I suppose it is logical that parents need to work to earn money, which I can accept. Friends however. Friends are just things to pass time with. I can do that at home perfectly well. Friends are just people who are jealous of what I can do. I don't need friends; I have my servants and my horses, my books and my brain._

_I can survive without friends. All I need are pawns in my game."_

Hayama frowned as he read the last sentence and turned to look at Akashi. He was slightly shocked that a 10 year-old could have such a warped thought. Hayama knew that Akashi's parents were rarely around, and Mibuchi had said that he loved his horses, but to think that from such a young age Akashi had decided to become what Akashi is now.

Akashi felt eyes on him and looked up. He saw what Hayama was holding and growled. He got up and plucked the book out of Hayama's hands with his teeth, glaring at the basketball player, before putting the book on the floor and placing a paw on the book.

Hayama was wondering what he was going to do when Akashi unsheathed his claws and Hayama lunged for the book.

"Akashi! What are you doing?!"

The lion gave him a look that told Hayama that he was going to the obvious. Unsheathed claws and a book, how can it get any more obvious?

"But… it's your memories! You can't just shred your memories!"

Akashi bared his teeth and growled, pupils narrowing to slits.

"So you were lonely when you were young, no one wanted to be your friend, but it's not shameful you know! People  _do_ have that moment where they are left alone."

The lion sat down, wanting to listen to what Hayama has to say, but didn't remove his paw or sheath its claws.

"It's alright to show a little vulnerability, really! I mean, you were like, what, 10? You were a kid, a… really mature kid, but still a kid. Kids are vulnerable, everyone was a kid once, and everyone was vulnerable at least once in their lives, you know?"

Akashi remained silent and still.

"This just proves that you're human, not some kind of statue or heavenly being. Being human means that you have feelings and emotions, the ability to think for yourself, and usually other people but this isn't the case here," Hayama frantically blabbers, "There are always moments like these in everyone's lives, and it is nothing to be ashamed of. This doesn't make you weak. If looked and learnt from properly, it can be important experience."

Akashi growls softly and shifts uncomfortably. "Humans are not all that weak," Hayama continues, "Well sure, we don't have claws or tough skin or sharp teeth, but we have the brains that we gained from evolution and with that intelligence, we had gotten technology that helps us survive daily. Although we depend on it heavily, it doesn't mean that we are weak enough to just keep being killed. We learn from the mistakes of one person and learn from it so we never do it again."

Akashi seemed to accept this logic and sheaths his claws. Taking the book by the spine, the lion puts it back on the shelf, wiggling it a bit before slotting it into the gap that it was in before.

He then bared his teeth and growled at Hayama and raised his paw to eyelevel, pointing at his eyes, before turning and pointing at Hayama's eyes.

_I've got my eye on you, Kotarou._

"Uh, yes. I won't… read your diaries again…" Hayama squeaked before sighing in relief at saving some memories, which perhaps Akashi would revisit someday.

Perhaps he would change, and when he looked back, he would see how different he was back then and now.

Akashi curled up in a corner of his room and closed his eyes, wanting to take a nap. Hayama pulled out a history book and sighed as he flipped through it. He never liked history, but it was the most interesting thing on the shelf that isn't Akashi's diaries.

There was a knock on the door soon after, and a maid slid the door open.

"Dinner is ready, Seijurou-sama, Hayama-sama," She politely says as she brings in two trays of food, one with rice, beef and miso soup, and one with grilled beef and some vegetables.

Hayama could see clearly which tray was his. He put the tray with Akashi's food in front of the lion as he moved his closer to him.

The lion begun eating and so did he.

Hayama noticed that Akashi had finished eating and asked, "Was that enough for you?"

Akashi shook his head, but a few seconds later, his stomach rumbled. Hayama giggled as Akashi turned so the only human being in the room couldn't see his embarrassed face. Hayama went out to tell the servants to bring the lion more food as well as brought them his dirty dishes.

The servants happily made Akashi more food while Hayama went back to the book. "Hey Akashi," Hayama said, eyes never leaving the book, "Why do you only have boring books?"

The lion looked at him and tried its best to raise an eyebrow even though he doesn't have any. "Your entire room is boring," Hayama said, looking up.

Akashi looked around and contemplated. Perhaps his room  _did_ look a bit dull. Hayama got up and left the room and Akashi got his food.

Hayama slid the door open to his room and grabbed his homework. Since he's reading history, he might as well do his homework, although he technically never does his homework.  _I bet my teachers will be shocked,_ Hayama snickered at the thought.

The heterochromatic eyes snapped to the door when he heard it open. He was halfway devouring dinner when Hayama came back in with a few books and a pencil case.

"Do you think you can still help me with my homework, Akashi?" Hayama asked as he sat down.

Akashi growled in a way that said 'yes'. He was in a helpful mood. Hayama  _did_ help him get more food.  _An eye for an eye,_ Akashi thought.

The lion shifted to sit beside Hayama as he opened his Math book.

(A/N: Sorry for the math hahahaha….)

"… In the figure, ABC is a horizontal plane. BD is a vertical mast. It is given that BC = 11cm, AC = 15cm and BD = 10cm. The angle of elevation of D from A is 50 degrees. Find the length of AD."

Hayama stared at the picture while chewing the top of his pencil before uttering a guess, "Cosine rule?"

Akashi rolled his eyes and smacked him in the head with a tail. "Ow! Sine rule! Sine rule!"

Akashi rolled his eyes again before jerking his head to the paper. Hayama grumbled as he did the workings. Akashi had to smack him a few times for getting the formula wrong and carelessly pressing the wrong buttons on the calculator.

"Remind me to never to homework with you again," Hayama mumbles while rubbing his sore head. Akashi just smacks it again, harder then usual and Hayama yelps an 'ow'.

 _You're the one who asked me for help in the first place,_ Akashi thought. The lion curled up and napped, not wanting to help Hayama anymore. The teen had to do his homework by himself now. The teachers would  _really_ be surprised now. All his answers became stupid answers now.

For example:

'A man was shot and has a puncture in his chest. Using the model above, explain why the lung does not inflate during inhalation.'

'Uh, maybe because he got  _shot?_ And the lung  _inflates?_ Wow I learn something new everyday when I'm not in school. I just sleep in school.'

I think the teachers are going to either laugh or cry or both.

Soon, he got tired after thinking a lot of 'creative' answers and fell asleep on Akashi's floor.

* * *

The lion woke up to silence and saw Hayama asleep on the floor. Getting up, he dragged his futon blanket over to cover the teen. It was winter for god's sake.

 _Should have asked the servants to bring the Kotatsu in,_ Akashi thought as he covered Hayama. Feeling slightly chilly, Akashi curled up around Hayama and joined him in slumber.

* * *

Akashi woke up when his biological clock kicked him in the butt. The large feline stretched and yawned before nudging Hayama awake. The platinum blonde groaned and pushed the blanket off him. Breakfast came in soon, and the sleepy duo started to eat.

"So after me is Nebuya?" Hayama asks between mouthfuls of rice and the heterochromatic lion nods.

"I wonder how he'd keep you company? I bet he'd eat more then you," Hayama giggles, "I'll see you during practice then, Akashi."

Akashi nods as Hayama exited his room to get his things and headed for school. The lion flops to his flank and sighs. What is he going to do until practice? Just then, Akashi thought about what he was going to do after practice and he smiled a toothy grin.

Everyone had agreed to meet on the last day of the transformations to see what kind of animal everyone turned into. They all agreed to meet at Maji burger, since Kagami and Nebuya were probably going to be hungry after practice. Akashi swished his tail in excitement; he couldn't wait to see how everyone was behaving.

* * *

"Neeeebuuuyaaaaa!" Hayama screeched from one end of a corridor as soon as the small forward spotted the tanned center. Nebuya cringed. Mibuchi, who was beside him, laughed and got out of the way as Hayama missiled himself forward and stopped right behind Nebuya.

"I think you're gonna have fun with Akashi!"

"Huh? Why would I have fun with him? He's  _Akashi._ He's going to be all silent and boring the whole night," Nebuya snapped back and peeled the platinum blonde off his back.

"Oh, I thought so too! But he's actually really interesting and really nice when he's all lion-y and stuff!"

"I doubt it. We're meeting the rest of his ex-teammates later," Nebuya said as the trio rounded into their classroom.

"That's so unfair, I want to meet up with them," Hayama pouted.

"I'm sure you will one day, Kotarou," Mibuchi said, patting his back.

"Hmph. I don't want to do it." Nebuya says as he plops down on his seat.

"Come on! Akashi is a great guy!" Hayama spouts happily, "Just don't read his diaries."

"Diaries? Akashi keeps diaries?" Nebuya raises his eyebrows.

"Yeah. They're the books on his bookshelf that have no names on the spines. I accidentally read one and he almost shredded it."

"He wanted to shred his diary?" Mibuchi says.

Hayama nods, "I convinced him to not do it though. I mean, they're his memories."

"I don't really care about Akashi's precious memories or diaries," Nebuya mumbles into his hand. Who would give a crap, really?

Mibuchi was about to say something when the teacher came in. They stood and greeted the teacher and got ready for class.

* * *

Akashi basked in the sun when one of his servants came. "Seijurou-sama, isn't it rather cold and dirty to be lying in the garden?"

The lion shook his head and sighed. The sun was warm but the air was chilly. The fur coat is really doing wonders to winter.

"Seijurou-sama," His butler called, "It is time for your practice."

Akashi got up and shook himself from any dirt and walked towards the car.

* * *

Nebuya was at the gate just in time. He reached the gate just as the black car was pulling up. The driver opened the door and out walked Akashi. The two exchanged brief glances before walking silently back to the gym.

To Nebuya, it was annoying silence. He didn't want to say anything but he didn't want to hear anything either. To Akashi, it was a comfortable silence, since he can't talk anyways.

The basketball club was already up and running. The coach has started practice and everyone was either playing games or doing exercises. The regulars were the only ones not doing anything and just waited for Akashi to come before they started their regular practice.

Once Akashi reached a nice spot to watch everything in the gym, the regulars started practice under the heterochromatic eyes.

Again, the lion roared at the non-regulars for goofing off and slacking, growling and glaring at Hayama for getting distracted and silently reprimanded everyone with glares.

The coach sighed as he glanced at Akashi.  _His scare factor doesn't change despite his physical form changing,_ he thought as he ended one set of games for the seniors and started the next one.

* * *

When practice was over, Nebuya quickly showered and got ready, because everyone knew that Akashi didn't appreciate tardiness. He met the lion at the entrance of the gym and the two walked out.

* * *

The two walked in silence again to Maji burger. As expected, there were cautious looks and gasps going about as they walked. Akashi walked normally but kept his jaws shut, not wanting to alarm the people on the streets. When they reached the fast-food restaurant, they met up with Kagami and Kuroko who were already there.

"Nebuya," Kagami says, and Nebuya nods back. Kagami had gotten the extra long table with 8 seats. Nebuya shimmied into the farthest seat and Akashi hopped on the seat next to him and sat down.

"This place accepts animals?" Nebuya raised an eyebrow. "Hey, no one's going to complain about a table full of predators right?" Kagami replied. Kuroko was sitting in his arms and he shifted to drink is vanilla milkshake.

"Is that…?" Nebuya frowned. "Kuroko," Kagami said, "Arctic fox."

"Oh… kay…" Nebuya continued frowning. This was awkward for him. Way too awkward.

"Uhm, Akashi, I'm gonna order food because I'm hungry, so can you…" Nebuya looked at the lion and the lion hopped off, giving Nebuya some space to get out.

"Oh wait, me too," Kagami said as he stood up and put Kuroko in his seat.

Kuroko and Akashi stared at each other for a moment. Akashi tried to say something, but it appears that Kuroko couldn't understand. Kagami and Nebuya came back with a tray and a mountain of burgers and sat down. Kagami put Kuroko beside him while he ate, since the arctic fox was the size of a dog. The two animals watch in disgust as the two humans devour burger after burger.

Aomine and Kise came next, Aomine leading Kise with a leash. Shuffling beside Kuroko, Aomine decided that in no way was he going to sit beside Akashi. He looked at Kuroko and said, "Are you some kind of dog?"

"Arctic fox," Kagami corrected him in between chews. Kise hopped up on a chair and sat down.

Nebuya just ate without saying a word, not wanting to ask, not bothering to know.

"So Kise really is a fox then?" Kagami asks after awhile and Aomine nods. Kise sighs and softly whines.

_I hate this collar._

Kuroko perks up and makes a surprised sound.

_I can understand you, Kise-kun._

_Kurokocchi? You can understand me?_

_That's interesting, since I couldn't talk with Akashi-kun._

Kagami and Aomine noticed the two foxes yipping and looked at each other.

"Are they…" Kagami started.

"Talking?" Aomine finished.

"Maybe its because they're both foxes," Nebuya says as he finishes one of his burgers. Akashi nods his head, agreeing with the statement.

Takao pops up soon, carrying a cute little Midorima with him. He sits beside Kise, Kuroko scooting onto Kagami's lap for more space, (because no one wants to sit with Akashi) and puts Midorima on the table.

"So what's up?" Takao greets everyone.

"Kise and Kuroko can understand each other," Aomine helps Kagami say, who is too busy wolfing down burgers.

"Eh? Does that mean all the animals can talk to each other?"

"No, only Kuroko and Kise."

"Why?"

"Because Kise's a fox and Kuroko's an arctic fox."

"Ah, similar species then."

Midorima huddles closer to Takao. "Oh, I think it might be too noisy in here," Takao says as he puts Midorima on his lap. The rabbit curls up in the warmth. "Shin-chan seems to dislike this place."

"Midorima never liked this place in the beginning," Kagami mumbled.

"Isn't there supposed to be two other guys?" Nebuya asks as he finishes his burgers.

"Himuro and Murasakibara don't seem to be here yet," Takao says and looks at the door. Kagami finishes his burgers while Kuroko drinks the rest of his milkshake. Akashi rests his head on the table and closes his eyes, and Kise half-lies on Aomine's lap.

10 minutes later, Himuro enters Maji burger with a towering Murasakibara in tow. Having no choice but to sit next to Akashi, Himuro makes Murasakibara go in first.

"What took you?" Kagami asks.

"Sorry," Himuro pants slightly, "Atsushi walks really slowly when he's a bear."

Said bear was now slumped on the table and falling asleep. Takao chuckled, "It's hibernation, I think. He probably feels really sleepy."

"That makes sense," Himuro frowned.

They talk they catch up. Akashi learns about what everyone has been doing and is pleased that everyone is happy. Some of them ate; Midorima was shaking in Takao's arms (because Maji Burger is a fast-food restaurant, and fast-food restaurants are always noisy and rabbits aren't comfortable with loud noises), Kise and Kuroko had a nice long conversation in foxian, and Nebuya, Aomine, and Kagami started quarreling about basketball strategies.

It always points back to basketball at one point of time in a conversation involving all of them. It's their one common trait after all.

They scattered soon, each announcing their intended locations before the sun sunk into a sunset, but not all things flow smoothly. With an incident of Akashi's potions being stolen and having half of the group turned into four-legged creatures (Murasakibara is debatable), nothing should go smoothly.

So let's do this in a rainbow, since everyone is so flashy and abnormally coloured. Colored. I hate this English-American thing. They should just decide on one kind of English and stick with it. It doesn't help when there's a Singaporean who wants a normal English language and is stuck between the language barriers of England and America. Right. I should stop getting sidetracked. Moving back to the rainbow. Let's start with Murasakibara, since he's purple.

Himuro and Murasakibara walked down the street with Takao and Midorima, their boots crunching in the freshly fallen snow. The large brown bear shuffled on his hind legs, walking slowly beside Himuro as he suddenly sniffed the air and tugged Himuro's jacket sleeve before lunging off on all four paws. Himuro saw where he was headed to and sighed as he walked slowly.

The streets were empty, since most of the people were at work. School kids were probably already home. It  _is_ getting colder after all. Why would they want to stay out when they can be at home with a warm cup of hot chocolate, which doesn't live up to its name of being hot, and a nice cozy blanket to snuggle up in.

Himuro continued walking slowly as he watched Murasakibara drool on the shop window when he heard a car pull up and someone putting a cloth over his nose and mouth. All he smelt as he was dragged backwards into the car before blacking out was a sweet smell that he had never smelt before, and it definitely didn't come from the pastry shop.

Murasakibara looked back to see why Himuro was taking so long when he saw a car door close and drive off.

The bear frowned and looked frantically around. The raven was nowhere to be found. He called out but got no answer. Panicking, he retraced his steps.

* * *

Aomine and Kagami were having a one-on-one in a nearby snow-free court, Kise and Kuroko still chattering with each other. Only those two basketball idiots would want to play basketball in winter. Aomine and Kagami were going at it so intensely that they didn't pay any attention to the talking foxes. Only when Aomine is sitting on his ass and Kagami was resting with his hands on his knees, crouched, did they realize that the court was quieter then usual.

"Hey, Kagami, where's Tetsu and Kise?"

Kagami stood up straight before looking at Aomine and the small grove of trees behind the court. Silently and cautiously, Kagami slowly headed into the grove. Aomine heard Kagami call out, but then there was a thud. The power forward frowned and yelled Kagami's name but received no call in return. Aomine stood up and looked around, only a few people around, no foxes or Kagami in sight.

He ran towards the grove and looked around.

"Ok, joke's over, come out! I'm not that stupid!" There was no reply. "Guys it's annoying, so just quit it." Still silence, he suddenly looked behind him, but it was just leaves rustling in the wind.

He took a step back, then ran back to the court and looked around.

"Kagami!" he shouted, looking around and listening for a response. He called out again. Still nothing. A black clad figure moved quietly towards him. It raised a bat, preparing to strike. Just as he was bringing the bat down, Aomine turned and he missed, bringing it down on his forearm. He cried out in pain and his flight and fight instincts didn't stick around before it chose flight. He was fighting a guy with an extended reach of a bat. He had a tournament coming up too. No broken bones today, buster. Nope. He was having none of this fight.

"You idiot! Don't let him escape!"

He turned to see a second black-clad figure coming after him. There was no way they could catch him, he'd be too fast. He was right, soon he turned into an alley and looked back, he finally lost them, once it was safe, he could go back and get the others.

Then he felt a sharp pain to the back of his head before he hit the ground and everything just became darker than black.

* * *

Takao was humming as he carried Midorima in his arms. The snow-white rabbit was warm against his chest and slightly shaking. They were walking down the street with Himuro and Murasakibara when the bear rushed off to a pastry shop, so Takao crossed the road to see if he could get Midorima the next day's lucky item.

Cancer's lucky item for tomorrow was a Lego brick, so Takao walked into toy stores hoping that they only sell one brick, but unfortunately, no one sells one Lego brick by itself, since its practically useless by itself. Just what can you build with one Lego brick? I can tell you that it can build pain when stepped on but that's that. You absolutely _cannot_ do  _anything_ with one Lego brick alone, which is what Midorima tries to tell Takao when he refused to buy a pack of Lego bricks.

"I'm not getting a box of Lego just so you can carry one around as a lucky item, Shin-chan," Takao mumbles as he exits the toy store.

Once outside, Takao almost bumps into a young father and his daughter. She looks up and spots the white ball of fluff and tugs on the bottom of Takao's jacket, "Hey, mister! Can I pat your rabbit?"

Takao grins and kneels down, being at eye-level with the small girl. "I don't think that's a good idea kid. Shin-chan doesn't like children."

"Awww, pleeeeaaase?" She pleads with huge brown puppy dog eyes. Takao looks directly into the eyes of Medusa and can't help but feel his resolve fluttering away.

"But…" Takao helplessly says but the girl starts to tear up. Takao can't handle crying girls because he had no experience with one. He looked at the father with an uneasy face and the father flails around trying to stop her from crying.

Takao looks back at the girl and whispers an apology as he hands her Midorima. The girl giggles and carefully holds the rabbit, who is frozen in shock and has no idea what to do. Midorima tried to struggle out of her grasp, but she cuddles him tight, so he just resorted to being still and hopes it ends soon. Takao stands up and talks with the father a bit.

"Your daughter really loves animals doesn't she?" The edges of Takao's mouth are tugged upwards in a smile.

The father looks fondly at her, "She has always wanted a pet, you see, so she likes patting animals."

"Ah," Takao laughs, "I see."

"But you really don't."

"Huh?" Takao's facial expression changed from happy to shocked and confused as a cloth was put over his mouth and he was forcefully pulled from behind before he passed out.

Midorima didn't see anything because he was positioned in a way that his back was facing Takao but he could still understand humans, so when he heard the ending of the conversation, he scrambled in the girls arms as he turned to see Takao being hauled into a car. He managed to catch a glimpse of Himuro as well.

The girl silently holds him tight as he tries to escape from her arms. The helpless rabbit could only do that much, not having the roar of a lion or the strength of a bear. All he had was his eyes, which watched the car drive off.

When the car was out of sight, the girl put the rabbit down on the ground and Midorima turned to look at the two people.

"Big brother, did I do well?"

The 'father' chuckled and patted her head, "Yeah. Let's get you some of your favourite soup for dinner as a reward for a job well done."

Midorima watched in shock as the two siblings who had conned him of Takao walk away happily. Then he remembered that Himuro was in the car as well and looked around for Murasakibara. True enough, the bear was lumbering towards him. He hops towards the bear and gets picked up. Murasakibara walks towards the courts with Midorima in his front paws.

* * *

Kise and Kuroko were chattering away. What else can be more exciting then discovering the way animals (or at least foxes) communicate? The two foxes were very amused that they had their own language. Everything was so foreign yet not. The two continued talking as the other two played furious basketball.

One of Kuroko's ears twitched as he heard something in the bushes. The two foxes turned their attention to the grove of trees, wondering what was there.

_What was that?_

_I don't know._

_Should we go find out?_

_I'm not sure._

_Come on Kurokocchi! I want to try stalking prey at least_ once  _in my life._

_You have very weird goals, Kise-kun._

_Please, Kurokocchi? Come with me! They won't even know that we're gone! Zip in and zip out, that's all!_

The arctic fox rolled his ice-blue eyes and stood up from where it was lying down in the sidelines of the court. The golden brown fox followed and the two snuck off into the bushes.

Walking silently, Kise noticed how much he stuck out compared to Kuroko with his snowy fur. Poking their noses into a few bushes, they continue to go deeper in the grove. They heard a thud and the whipped their heads around, but hearing the rustle again, they decided to ignore it and headed towards the noise, their now heightened hearing leading the way.

They track down the rustle, but it all they found was a stick and a bush. Looking at each other, the two foxes poked around the nearby bushes and inspected the footprints left in the snow for a while before heading back to the court.

The now empty court.

 _Eh?_ Kise's foxy eyes were wide open and scanning the court for Aomine and Kagami.  _Kagamicchi? Aominecchi?_

_I don't see them anywhere._

_Me neither. Where did they go?_

_I hear something._

_What?_

… _. Shuffling?_

The foxes turned to the shuffling and saw a bear holding a rabbit. The two foxes looked at each other and back at the bear as Murasakibara approached them.

* * *

Kagami walked through the grove looking for the two foxes, or at least one of them since Kuroko is the hide-and-seek champion. He sees their footprints and decided to follow them. Hearing a rustle, Kagami whips his head around, searching for the noise.

He stopped behind the bush he had heard it from, beside a wide tree with a hollow collecting with snow. Peering over the bush, he only saw a shallow hole from where a small animal probably lay. What he didn't see though, was the man hiding around he tree, moving himself when Kagami was looking and moving himself back when he wasn't.

Turning around and opening his mouth to call out the wanted ones' names, no noise came out as he was hit from behind and he crumpled in the snow. The man came out from behind the tree and dragged Kagami towards the road.

* * *

Akashi was huddled in a corner of his room on his futon being bunched into the corner. He set his blanket to make a perimeter of his sleeping space and was now napping. He felt safe in his house, especially in the corner where he can see everything, and he was comfortable with his mini no-touchy perimeter.

The lion woke up when a servant knocked on his door and a maid slid his door open. "Seijurou-sama, Nebuya-sama is nowhere to be found."

Akashi blinked. He grabbed a pen and paper and wrote with his mouth (in very ugly handwriting Akashi refused to recognize as  _his)_ and wrote down: Did you search everywhere?

"Yes."

Did anyone see him go?

"No one was in contact with him while he was in his room, sir."

No one has heard from him?

"I went in to ask him what he wished to have for dinner but he was already gone, sir."

I see. Keep searching.

Another maid came in and gave a slight bow as a greeting. "Seijurou-sama, there is… A rabbit, a bear, and two foxes standing in front of the front gate…"

Bring them in.

The maids looked shocked but did as they were told, leaving quietly and quickly. The group of animals trouped in and they all sat down in front of Akashi.

What is this about?

Midorima hopped over to Akashi's computer and put a paw on it, looking over to Akashi. The lion gave a slight nod before he tried with all his furry little rabbit strength until Murasakibara opened it for him. Midorima opened a new Word page and began typing.

'Himuro and Takao got abducted.'

Kuroko took the pen in his mouth and wrote down on the paper: So did Kagami-kun and Aomine-kun.

Akashi growled. He took the pen back and wrote: My servants have informed me that Eikichi is missing as well.

The animals sat in silence for a while before Akashi wrote again: Atsushi, use your nose to follow Eikichi's scent since I have his belongings right now.

Murasakibara pushed Midorima (rather roughly) off the computer and carefully tapped with his claws an answer: 'Now?'

Akashi nodded and Murasakibara sighed. The point guard jerked his head to the left, indicating the room that Nebuya was sleeping in. The bear stood and lumbered over to the next room. Murasakibara came back with one of Nebuya's jacket and Akashi held out a paper in his mouth saying: Go.

The bear sighed again and buried his nose in the jacket. Stalking off, the bear walked off following the scent of Nebuya. Akashi made eye contact with Kuroko and jerked his head in the direction of Murasakibara, signaling to follow him in case he gets sidetracked.

 _What am I suppose to do anyways,_ Kuroko miserably mumbled,  _like I have the strength to do anything to Murasakibara-kun._

Kise snickered and the tree animals sat in silence as they awaited the return of their two animal friends.

* * *

Nebuya groaned as he finally woke up. "Hey, you okay?" He heard someone say to his left and turned his head. It was Takao. He groggily nodded. "A bit weird, but fine," He replied.

Takao sighed in relief. "Thank god. Those two have been groaning about their head the whole time," Takao jerked his left shoulder to Kagami and Aomine.

It was then that Nebuya realized he was sitting down and tied to a tree. They were all each tied to a tree with a rope tied around their torso. It was tight and digging into his body, since he was wearing only a long-sleeved shirt. Everyone else had their jackets removed, but he wasn't wearing a jacket in the first place. Why would he, when Akashi's house had heating. He shivered as his legs started feeling the cold from the snow and air. He looked around. They were in a circular-ish clearing in some sort of forest.

"Hey, Taiga, you sure you're fine?" He heard someone on his right say and turned to see Himuro.

"Fuck, Tatsuya shut up. I'm fine," Kagami growled, "I just can't see very well, it's really blurry."

Aomine groaned, "Your voice is making my headache worse, Bakagami."

"You two are annoying the crap out of me," Nebuya growled.

"You can't blame them," Takao said, "They got hit in the head whereas Himuro and I got chloroformed. How about you?"

"I don't know," Nebuya shrugged, or at least he tried, "I fell asleep and the next thing I know, bam I'm freezing my ass off with you guys while being tied to a tree."

"Did you smell something sweet?"

"Sweet?"

"Himuro said chloroform smelt sweet."

"I vaguely remember something sweet, but I thought it was the kitchen or something."

They all heard a crunch and looked up. There was a guy in a ski mask with holes cut for eyes and his nose. "Hey guys, how're you doing?" He smirked, or at least only Takao knew he smirked because he was the only one who could see that far.

No one said anything as they glared at him.

"Your little furry friends won't find you and won't be able to rescue you. This forest is surrounded with my guys. I wonder how long it'll take for you to freeze," He laughed.

Then, another guy, whom Takao recognized as the 'father', laid down a pile of dry twigs and random branches that were thin enough to snap off and lit it with a lighter. The fire was too far away for any of the tree huggers to feel anything, so the fire was just torture. The main guy unfolded the chair that another lackey handed to him and sat down, listening to music.

* * *

Murasakibara and Kuroko were quietly walking through the forest that the bear's nose had led them to. They saw that 4 people with baseball bats and crowbars as weapons surrounded it. Kuroko signaled to Murasakibara to stay at where they were, crouched under a huge-ass bush beside a tree, as Kuroko got closer. A brown bear was very noticeable against the white snow, but when your current species is named after a region in the North Pole, you learn that you can practically be one with the snow.

Kuroko crouched low and trotted around in the snow. When he sensed that someone was about to look, he dropped to his belly, flattened his ears, buried his snout in the snow and closed his eyes. Leaving his footprints uneven, he managed to make a full circle of the clearing and returned to Murasakibara.

Signaling to the bear, they returned home. Akashi needs to hear about this quickly.

* * *

The door slid open and Murasakibara and Kuroko returned to a lion and a rabbit playing a shogi game.

 _Kurokocchi! Look! Lion versus Rabbit!_ Kise yipped happily. Kuroko blinked and took the pen and paper to write down their findings.

Our human counterparts are being held in a forest near your house. They're guarded by 4 armed gangsters with its ringleader with them in the clearing. The 5 of them are tied to trees with rope so it is unlikely for them to escape. They are also dressed rather lightly so I fear the worst if it comes to night.

They all read it and Akashi immediately knows which forest Kuroko was talking about. He sees it on the way to school and back. He takes the pen from Kuroko and writes down: Okay, so here's the strategy.

Ryouta is the coach. He will plan the attacks and what everyone specifically is doing.

Atsushi and I are the centers. We will scare the guards and put them out.

Tetsuya and Shintarou are the power forwards. You will bite through the rope and free the humans and hide from the eyes of the guards at the same time.

They all read the note and nervously turned to Kise, who had a very foxy grin.

He took the pen from Akashi and wrote down instructions: I'm going to need some ketchup, water, red food colouring and corn syrup first.

* * *

Takao was shivering. It was getting dark and the temperature started dipping lower as the sun sank.

The ringleader was sitting happily around his stupid little fire enjoying his cup noodles. Takao just shivered. "Hey, Takao, you doing alright?" Aomine grumbled. His head ached and he felt like shit.

"A-ah," Takao stammered, "So f-far so goo-h-ood."

"What about you? Your head feels like it got run over right?" Kagami asked Aomine and the blue-haired teen just groaned, hanging his head low.

Nebuya realized that Himuro was slightly shivering as well and silently observed him.

"Hey," Nebuya called out to the ringleader, but ski-mask guy was listening to his own music and didn't hear him.

Nebuya shouted louder and the ringleader popped an earpiece out. "What do you want?" He shouted back.

"What are you going to do with us?"

The ringleader chuckled, "Nothing, just gonna let nature take its course." And plugged is earpiece back in before anyone could say anything else.

"Seems l-like they intend for us t-to die," Himuro slightly stammered.

"Not unless the animals help us," Nebuya said crossly as he glared with all his might at the ringleader, hoping his glare blows his brains out of his head.

* * *

An hour later, they heard shouts and the crunching of snow. The tree-huggers-but-not-really-tree-huggers looked up and watched as the 4 guards panicked. The ringleader yelled a 'What's going on'.

Takao felt the rope loosen a bit and tried to look behind, but the tree was too wide so he couldn't see anything. Suddenly the rope just sagged and he wriggled free. The ringleader was too busy with the panicking guards that he didn't notice Takao slip behind Nebuya.

"Shin-chan!" He whispered harshly as he noticed the white bunny hopping towards Himuro. The rabbit gave a nod as he started to gnaw through one of the ropes binding Himuro.

Takao went ahead and started to untie Nebuya's rope. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kuroko finish chewing through one lock of Kagami's rope and moved on to Aomine's.

The ringleader noticed that Kagami and Takao were untied and yelled for the guards. The two surviving came from the front and the three menacingly walked towards them with long, metal objects in their hands. Takao managed to untie Nebuya and Midorima managed to chew through Himuro's rope. Kuroko had managed to chew through Aomine's rope as well. All the humans stood up, although Aomine was having a harder time then Kagami trying to stand.

The three started to run towards the 7 of them when Akashi, Murasakibara, and Kise burst out from behind the trees that the humans were tied to.

All three growling with blood dripping from their fangs and claws made the 3 advancing kidnappers halt in their steps.

They backed up a little, but the ringleader guy refused to admit defeat. He charged, the 2 men following him, albeit hesitantly.

The 3 predator animals in return, charged as well. Akashi pounced on the head honcho; Murasakibara swat one of the followers away with a giant paw and Kise hurled his body sideways into the other.

Akashi pinned down the leader with his paws on his chest, claws pressing into skin. He leaned down and growled, letting the red liquid drip onto the pinned human's chest. The lion bared his teeth, showing the pearly white sharp teeth. The man stared in horror, breathing hard, as he stared at the ominous lion.

The heterochromatic lion stared at the ski-mask face for a few seconds before roaring at full strength and letting the man go. The 3 of them scampered off into the forest like scared mice.

They all went to their respective partners to check if they were okay after chasing off the attackers.

Akashi walked calmly towards Nebuya, and the black-haired center sighed. "I'm fine, Akashi, but I think Takao and Himuro are going to freeze."

True enough, Himuro was now chattering, but Takao was currently all right due to the adrenaline rush of untying Nebuya in time.

"It seems like Kagami and Aomine might have concussions," Takao told Akashi and the lion frowned.

"Don't worry," Kagami mumbled, "We have a hospital we can go to."

Kise whimpered at Aomine's feet, rubbing himself affectionately on his legs while Kuroko was trying to warm up Kagami's legs.

Takao picked Midorima up and the 10 of them walked towards that one particular hospital that they were so familiar with.

* * *

Nurse Sahara sighed. "I hate having the graveyard shift during winter," She mumbled to her colleague beside her, who laughed wearily. "Yeah, no one likes it. No one ever likes the graveyard shift."

It was cold and gloomy and depressing (since it's a hospital) and dark. Sahara was tired and nothing was going to make her feel better except a hot cup of tea and a warm bed.

She was wrong though, because in strode in 4 people she recognized. She stood up and greeted the ones she recognized, "Panther-kun! Tiger-kun, Hawk-kun! Wolf-kun!"

Her colleague looked completely and utterly confused now, so she went to make herself a cup of coffee and told herself that she was so tired that she was hallucinating, because no one just strides into a hospital with two foxes, a rabbit, a bear, and lion.

"Sahara-san!" Takao greeted, "Do you have warm drinks and blankets?"

* * *

Takao and Himuro were huddled together with a cup of hot chocolate each, both trying to defrost. Nebuya felt fine after a hot drink. Aomine and Kagami were admitted with mild concussions, so it was their room that they were huddled in.

"Oh dear," Sahara said, "It seems like the group has gotten bigger."

"Ah, that's right, you don't know," Himuro said.

"This," Takao raised his arms with a Midorima in his palms, "Is Shin-chan."

"Shin-chan? You mean Midorima-kun?" Sahara said, shocked, and Takao nodded.

"That," Himuro pointed to Murasakibara curled up in the warmest spot of the room (under the lights and below the window), "Is Atsushi."

"Atsushi, as in, Murasakibara-kun?" Sahara's face remained in a shocked expression and Himuro confirmed by nodding.

"Then I'm assuming this," She said as she headed to the arctic fox and patted his head, "Is Kuroko-kun?"

Takao and Himuro nodded.

"And that is Kise-kun?"

They nodded again.

"Looks like I got new nicknames for you guys."

Takao and Himuro laughed. Aomine and Kagami just groaned at the noise.

"Then who are you?" She says as she walks towards Nebuya and Akashi.

Nebuya blinks, "Ah, my name is Nebuya Eikichi."

"I see, Nebuya-kun then. How about you?" She turns her attention towards the lion.

"That's Akashi Seijurou." Nebuya helps Akashi say.

"Oh, okay. Lion-kun then."

Akashi's eye twitched, but he sighed. Anyone who helped his ex-teammates many times is allowed to call him a small nickname.

"If you guys want to sleep here, go ahead, but it's not going to be comfortable since I already supplied you what I can supply," Sahara says as she opens the door. "If you need me, call me. I'm working graveyard shift. I'm going to be here the whoooooooole night." She leaves and closes the door gently.

Kuroko snuggles in with Kagami, who just grumbled in protest. Kise curls up at Aomine's feet, but then moves to lie beside Aomine, because feet which had played basketball only a few hours before was not a good pair to sleep beside.

Himuro shuffled and used Murasakibara as a pillow. Takao shuffled to the medicine cabinet that all rooms had and leaned against it, holding Midorima close to him. The rabbit squeaked a bit and tried to escape, but secretly he wanted to be held like that so he put up a fight before settling down.

Nebuya looks down at Akashi, "Do you want to stay here?"

The point guard looks at the tanned raven with his red and yellow eyes and nods. He couldn't just leave his ex-teammates here, so he curls up in a corner. Nebuya grabs the blanket that was given to him and sits in the armchair, making sure he's comfortable before he sleeps.

* * *

Akashi opens his eyes to his biological clock. It was still slightly dark outside; the sun had started to rise. He straightened out his back and yawned. So apparently sleeping on the hard floor is really uncomfortable for him, but it's to be expected since he never really had to sleep on a hard floor. His back was slightly sore from the floor, but otherwise he felt fine. He looked around the room at all the others. Seems like they had all turned back overnight.

Nebuya was still curled up in his chair, Himuro was sprawled on Murasakibara and using him as a pillow, Midorima had his head on Takao's lap (Takao must be really uncomfortable sleeping in a sitting position), Kagami was hugging Kuroko on the bed and Kise is almost falling off the bed due to Aomine being selfish and just squishing him towards the edge.

Akashi sighs and stands up. Deciding that he needed a cup of tea, he takes Nebuya's wallet with him to go to the nearest vending machine. Hopefully, although doubtful, the vending machines will have some good tea to start the day of returning into a human.

He returns to the room with his cup of slightly-below-average-tea-but-that-will-have-to-do-for-now and accidentally woke Kuroko up.

"Ah, Tetsuya, I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

The sleepy blunette mumbled something incoherent as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Good morning Akashi-kun," He softly greeted in his morning voice.

Akashi smiled, "Good morning to you too."

He grabbed a nearby chair after he returned Nebuya's wallet to where he took it. Sitting there, he started thinking, but he also started becoming bored. He rummaged through Nebuya's bag for a pen and paper and wrote some things down before quietly leaving.

Nebuya woke up when he felt something hit his face. Opening his eyes, he looked at the pillow on his lap and everyone's faces which were looking at him. "Do I wanna know?" He asked gruffly as he rubbed the inner corner of an eye.

"Sorry," Kagami said, "We were throwing pillows around."

"Hnn," Nebuya replied, too sleepy to say anything else. He looked around and realized Akashi wasn't there and asked the occupants currently  _still_ throwing pillows around. Have they no shame?

"I saw him write something down and left," Kuroko said, "He put it in your bag."

Nebuya reached into his bag and pulled up a neatly folded piece of paper. On it was Akashi's neat handwriting.

" _I'm going home first, there's nothing much for me to do. Tell the rest that I'll be investigating the theft and kidnappings. Meanwhile, please don't get kicked out of the hospital. It would be a shame to be banned from this hospital."_

Nebuya read the letter out and left soon after, feeling too awkward and bored to stay in that room. He shivered when he left the hospital, remembering that he didn't have a jacket. He quickly caught a cab (noticing that he was missing some money) and travelled to Akashi's house to pick up his things and finally go home.

* * *

Akashi's eyes glared at him in the dark.

"Hello Shougo."

The raven glared back at his past captain. "Akashi," He greeted back.

"You  _are_ in someway part of this aren't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Of course you do. You're the only outsider who knows."

"I'm an outsider? How cruel, I used to be part of your little posse you know?"

"You were expelled for a reason, and being expelled is why I suspect you are perhaps the one who only dabbled in this little…  _project_ for only a bit."

"Only a bit? What makes you think I wasn't the one who planned it?"

"So you  _do_ know what I'm talking about," Akashi smirked, "Glad we're on the same page then."

Haisaki replied Akashi's smirk with one of his own, "I could have been the one behind the mask."

"Impossible. That wimpy build? You? That plan wasn't even  _close_ to flawless. That whole kidnapping thing wasn't your doing. If it were you, they would have been beaten to a pulp. So tell me, who did it?"

Haisaki stopped smirking and looked serious now. He told Akashi, "I only heard of it from one of my gang members recently. I had nothing to do with anything. I was in here the whole time, minding my own business and bossing around kids, but even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you."

Akashi raised his head, giving the image of Haisaki being looked down upon, "But that's also because you don't know who did it, but I believe you. If you happen to find out, don't even bother contemplating telling me, because I will find the one who did this, I will hunt him down, and I will cut his heart out. If you do find him, tell him that he shouldn't leave town."

The redhead turned and left through the only door in the room and Haisaki sighed. Which idiot thought it would be a good idea to make Akashi angry?

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure if the diary bit sounded like him so uh... yeah if you think he's OOC, then feel free to tell me and explain why hahaha
> 
> I swear communications between the animals is a bitch. Why did I even start this series. No, I know why, but what I want to know is how this even turned into a SERIES and HOW THE HELL DID IT GET THIS FREAKING FAR. I'm mores suited towards oneshots so how did this even happen I don't know how or why or I don't even.


End file.
